Thousands of fishes found dead in UP, probe ordered
Lucknow, May 14: Thousands of fishes were found floating dead on the banks of the Ganga river in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj district following which a probe has been ordered, officials said on Monday.
District Magistrate of Kannauj, Ravindra Kumar while confirming the death of the fishes, both big and small, informed IANS that the report by wildlife experts was likely to be submitted within a week.
Kumar added that he had visited the site with a team of experts from the National Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun and the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB).
"The samples of the dead fishes and that of the sluggish water have been taken by teams and we will get to know the exact reason by the weekend," he said.
Prima facie, he added, that it was suspected that the effluents from the industrial units in Shahjahanpur were sending some toxic material downstream, leading to poisoning of the water habitat in the Ganga.
The official also pointed out that the water which was generally muddy had overnight changed to pitch black, leading to strong suspicion of some industrial waste being dumped into the river. He, however, categorically denied that this could be waste emanating from industries in Kannauj itself.
The dead fishes were found by pilgrims and locals at the Mehandighat, a popular ghat where locals come to bathe regularly.
Kannauj is world famous for its special 'Itra' (oil-based perfumes). It is the parliamentary constituency of Dimple Yadav, wife of former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
